In the quiet of a warm summer’s evening, two young mothers are forced to give up their babies.As the years have passed, Kate has grown up knowing only poverty and servitude, whilst Josie’s world is one of privilege and luxury.Despite the differences in their circumstances, Kate and Josie have been friends since childhood. But their past binds them together in ways they must never know.Until a chance meeting forces Kate and Josie to confront the truth of that night nearly twenty years before – a truth that turns both worlds upside down and threatens to destroy their friendship forever. . . The Lady’s Maid by Dilly Court – eBook Details Then this one night, she has to transport this mysterious guy from a foreign ship onto the banks of the Thames. He is a man that ends up renting a room inside of Essie’s house, and only identifies himself as ‘Raven’. My Review: The protagonist (Essie) is a strong, caring and hard working female. Throughout the novel I was hooked on her emotional rollercoaster and her life changing transformation. She is a three dimensional character, likeable and relatable. The other main characters such as Sadie are also brilliant. A range of personalities that will make you smile and shout at the awful behaviour. Lottie was an ordinary character. There wasn’t anything particularly special about her. I wasn’t impressed or intrigued. She was nice, average girl. The Christmas Wedding” is the first novel in the “Village Secrets” series and was released in the year 2019. Daisy’s future, as she held the letter in her trembling hands, crumbled right before her, with the words being engraved onto her heart forever.

But sitting at a computer for hours isn’t too good on the figure, however so she typically takes her dog for a walk. One major plot flaw is that it is never really clear why either of the men fall in love with their respective women. There is no relationship development or apparent getting to know each other before they are suddenly smitten. One of the men, despite being smitten, leads another girl on for almost the entire book and although there are suggestions that it's to protect her honour, this is suspect and doesn't quite ring true given the circumstances. Court grew up in north east London, leaving school when she was 16 to work as a secretary at broadcaster Associated-Rediffusion. [1] Working in the advertising department, she was able to move into a copywriting position, which allowed her to exercise her love of writing. [1] Literary career [ edit ] The Romany were particularly well done, in my opinion. The first portrayal was enough to make me worry the author shared the views of that period, but then as the story unfolds, a much more nuanced view comes into play. There are several love stories running throughout though I wouldn’t say they are the primary focus. That honor falls to the tangled relationship between the two young women. While some might protest the love story for Kate and Harry (a man whose wealth comes from trade), including Kate, there are enough historical accounts to show that love did defeat the class and wealth barriers, especially among those who earned their wealth.

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This is the second historical novel I have read by Dilly Court, and once again, she sunk me into the period with all the prejudice and classism endemic in the 1800s. The story begins with an awkward friendship between a spoiled, manipulative lady and her lifelong friend who begins the book as a beleaguered housemaid.

Private Ellis/Gideon, on the other hand, was not very likeable, in my opinion. I found him to be annoying and arrogant. That’s just the way I felt about him and I’m sure that many will find him to be charming and sweet and perfect, etc. Etc. I personally felt that he just wasn’t the right person for Lottie (I had someone else in mind and she rejected him, of course).Despite her impressive sales, her books have largely been ignored by critics. In 2020, Robbie Millen, literary editor for The Times, admitted that he hadn't previously heard of Court and that his paper had never reviewed any of her titles, nor had other major British newspapers. [6] Personal life [ edit ]

However when one good deed goes sour, a dangerous foe threatens to ruin all of them. Is she going to be able to save her new buddies along with her future? If she’s able to, there’s a Christmas gift that’s waiting sure to change her life forever. As the story heats up Lottie not only gets caught up in a clash of wills between Lady Aurelia and Major General Fothergill's prying wife, but is drawn into a nasty web of deception, lies and secrets until tragedy strikes and she's abruptly returned to England. Facing the loss of loved ones, threatened with destitution and with a family to support the indomitable Lottie begins to look for a miracle to save them all. This novel set in the 19th century about two babies born to very different circumstances is compelling. Josie is the spoilt rich kid and Kate is her on again off again friend working as a maid. The tale follows their lives and loves as they come of age. I applaud the author for showing awareness of how alcoholism can be so destructive on the person experiencing it and their loved ones. In addition, the author shows the brutality of how women and the poor classes were treated. Court has been married twice (in 1967, to a sea captain, and in 1995, to a dentist) and has two children. [1] As of 2023 [update] she resides in Dorset. [1] Selected works [ edit ] Standalone novels [ edit ]Dilly Court grew up in northeast London and resides in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband with whom she has two grown kids and four grandkids. She started her writing career writing scripts for television commercials. BTW - It didn't take her too long for our poor river maiden to become a priggish toff snob to the hired help ! I never truly liked Josie, raised as a lady, because she is unthinking, hypercritical, and selfish, but I came to appreciate her flawed but contrite nature. She is often repentant after the fact and occasionally shows flashes of maturity even at her worst though they don’t last. By the early afternoon, she’ll have done all her correspondence, paid a few bills, and written out a shopping list. Nothing all that romantic, but entirely necessary. After she’s done that, she’s earned a cup of tea and some custard creams in a biscuit tin.